Many of my clients are choosing to give personalized stationery collections as a really special wedding gift. It’s especially fun when seeing the names together in print still gives that little thrill…

Ryan and Tara were married last weekend in Charleston, South Carolina (the mere mention of that city makes me envious!) and these are the invitations I designed and printed for their rehearsal dinner.

The picture above (printed on lightly textured Italian card) shows the invitation guests received, but I played with a couple of different stocks during the printing process – a heavyweight cotton stock and a brown kraft. The results (below) show how changing the card stock or even just switching envelope colours can produce very different looks.

And here’s a little on-the-press shot, right before the second colour was printed.

Look at this beautiful little wedding cake that Kate sent all the way from Paris! It came with the kindest thank you letter (I designed and printed Kate and David’s wedding invitations – a really exciting project) and the package arrived just in time for my birthday, which I conveniently took as a sign that I should eat it that very day.

Here are just some of the orders I shipped two days before I left for Australia. Some you’ve seen up close; others I’ll show you when it won’t spoil any surprises!

We landed back in New Orleans five days ago, and I’m oh-so-slowly untangling the world and getting back to work. Wow does it take a long time to unpack two months’ worth of luggage for three people, and to sort out two months of mail, and to find places for a kids’-birthday-mountain of presents… and don’t even get me started on the jet lag.

But we’ll get there. First off the rank: a birth announcement for a brand-new little Australian who made his debut just three days after I left! I’m looking at you, Oscar…

Usually when you have a blog, and you go to the other side of the world on holiday, you write a little something every day to share the wonders and adventures of the place you’re in.

I prefer to become paralysed by imagined pressure, failing to write anything at all until a good 30 days in; then I try, unwisely, to unload it all at once.

Here, I’ve made the unloading even more random by uploading my pictures in no particular order and being unable to shuffle them. I’m going to just write stuff underneath them, and hope you stick with me.

Good luck to us all. Let’s begin.

First of all, I love being home so very much. Australia is such a novelty – which is sad in one way because it must mean I don’t fully belong anymore, but happy because everything old is new again. The shine of it! Kookaburras laughing when I wake up early. Magpies singing as I walk to the gym. Lemon gum and eucalyptus on the air, Weetbix for breakfast and Australian news on the TV. Did I mention the amazing coffee?? Yes, yes I did.

My “Australia radar” malfunctioned at first, going into overdrive. See, back home (which home? America-home) I have a constant scan going on for all sightings and mentions of Australia and Australian things. I didn’t realise this until I got here and my brain kept shouting, “Hey! Hey! An Australian accent! Hey! They just talked about Brisbane on the news! Hey! That’s Powderfinger on the radio! Hey! An Australian flag! Hey! A koala sign! Cuuuute!” I’ve become accustomed to it after six weeks, so that I don’t spin out anytime someone mentions Melbourne or Milo, but the fun endures.

You know what else is new again? My friends. I have connected and reconnected with dear friends, and I just love them so much I want to take them home with me. It’s unreasonable that I can’t just drag Australia and America up alongside each other. Why does continental drift take so long, and go in the wrong directions?

Here above: Kristy and Gerrod. I’d actually never met them before this day at Brother Espresso, but they shared a flat with my brother and sister-in-law in London so we were meant-to-be lifelong friends. I’m pretty sure Gerrod knows when my grandparents’ anniversary is and how to spell my sister’s middle name and stuff like that, so – we’re tight. Also, they’re funny (the picture right up the top of this post? that’s me losing my composure next to Gerrod for at least the fourth time).

Here’s Kirsty (above), my best friend from Grade 8. I went a whole 19 years without seeing her until we discovered each other on Facebook last year (kudos, Facebook!) We’ve been scrambling to make up for lost time ever since, and it’s a joy.

Kirsty’s little boy was born the same week as Man-show, so our kids get on like a house on fire. Without the kids, we went to an extra-special-fancy girls’ night out with Jodi, who made our trio in Grade 9. Neither of us had seen her in fully 20 years, and six hours out together barely scratched the surface.

That’s Jodi’s death-by-chocolate… I blame the borrowed camera for being bad at close range – not me. It’s never me.

I have been going to some great restaurants here, that reminds me. And did I tell you? I went to the incredible Valentino Retrospective at the Gallery of Modern Art. It was an amazing exhibit; seeing those iconic gowns together in one space was inspiring. Berry and Mika were keen to find the most-princessy dresses – there was a heated debate over which of them would “get to wear” the pink caped evening ensemble from Winter 1990/91…

Photography was super-strictly forbidden inside the gallery, so you’ll have to take my word for all that. But here are the girls standing by the V.

And with that, I’ve worn myself out.

More randomness soon, featuring animals, the Opera House, midnight at McDonald’s, fairy bread, and how awesome it is to see my family.